Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,430,000 shares, a growth of 8.2% from the May 31st total of 6,870,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,960,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days. Approximately 3.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

NYSE:CAH opened at $95.70 on Thursday. Cardinal Health has a one year low of $85.11 and a one year high of $116.04. The company has a market cap of $23.31 billion, a PE ratio of 42.53, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.48 and a 200-day moving average of $104.36.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.13. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 54.74% and a net margin of 0.25%. The firm had revenue of $54.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cardinal Health will post 7.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.5056 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. This is a boost from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new position in Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 4,466.7% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Cardinal Health during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on CAH shares. Argus decreased their price objective on Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Cardinal Health from $96.00 to $94.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com cut Cardinal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $134.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.67.

Cardinal Health Company Profile

Cardinal Health, Inc operates as a healthcare services and products company in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It provides customized solutions for hospitals, healthcare systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, physician offices, and patients in the home.